USDA Temporarily Reopening FSA Offices

Jan. 17, 2019 The USDA announced that many Farm Service Agency offices will reopen temporarily in the coming days to perform certain limited services for farmers and ranchers. The department has recalled roughly 2,500 FSA employees to open offices today,…

USDA Activities Limited By Funding Lapse

Jan. 14, 2019 While Farm Service Agency offices remain closed, the Agriculture Department has indicated that meat and grain inspections, nutrition assistance programs, and certain other activities will continue during the partial government shutdown. The USDA is not updating its…

Trade Payment Deadline Extended Due to Shutdown

Jan. 09, 2019 The Agriculture Department extended the deadline to apply for trade-mitigation payments aimed at helping farmers suffering from trade retaliation by foreign nations. The Market Facilitation Program was extended as Farm Service Agency offices across the country are…

Senate Banking Panel Issues Subcommittee Assignments

Jan. 22, 2019 Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) announced the panel’s subcommittee assignments for the 116th Congress. The Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection will be led by Sens. Tim Scott…

SEC Brings Charges in Hacking Case

Jan. 17, 2019 The Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against nine defendants for participating in a previously disclosed scheme to hack into the agency’s EDGAR system, which is used by publicly listed companies. The defendants allegedly sought to extract…

Reserve Bank Net Income Drops in 2018

Jan. 11, 2019 The Federal Reserve Banks paid approximately $65.4 billion of their estimated 2018 net income to the U.S. Treasury, according to preliminary results from the Fed. The reserve banks’ 2018 estimated net income of $63.1 billion is a…

OCC’s Otting Named FHFA Acting Director

Jan. 07, 2019 President Donald Trump named Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting to become acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency upon completion of current Director Mel Watt’s term on Jan. 6. Otting will serve until a permanent…

OCC Names New Chief Operating Officer

Jan. 18, 2019 The OCC named Morris Morgan as its new senior deputy comptroller and chief operating officer. Comptroller Joseph Otting created the COO position as part of structural changes to the agency. Morgan joined the OCC in 1985 and…

New Opportunities for CECL Improvements: Blog

Jan. 23, 2019 ICBA’s longtime campaign to improve the Current Expected Credit Loss accounting standard has lately received new life, ICBA’s Chris Cole and James Kendrick write in a new blog post. On Main Street Matters, the accounting experts write…

New Infographic Touts Farm Bill Gains

Jan. 18, 2019 A new ICBA infographic thanks Congress and President Trump for enacting a strong farm bill that provides stability for the volatile farm sector and incorporates important policies. The infographic on the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018…

McWilliams Touts Capital Plan ICBA Working to Strengthen

Jan. 14, 2019 Policymakers have made the bank regulatory system “way too complicated for the banks that are not that complicated,” FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams said. Speaking in Washington, McWilliams said a key priority of hers is simplifying capital requirements for…

Marriott: Breach Involved 5.25M Unencrypted Passport Numbers

Jan. 08, 2019 The Marriott International hotel chain said approximately 5.25 million unencrypted passport numbers were included in the information accessed by an unauthorized third party in the incident reported Nov. 30 involving its Starwood reservations database. It also said approximately 8.6…

ICBA: Banks Should Be Model for Privacy Framework

Jan. 15, 2019 ICBA advocated a voluntary privacy framework as a first step to safeguard entities without a regulatory structure. Responding to a National Institute of Standards and Technology request for information on developing a privacy framework, ICBA explained the…

ICBA-Advocated Reforms Expand Access to Sub S Tax Cut

Jan. 22, 2019 Subchapter S bank shareholders will have significantly expanded access to the 20 percent tax deduction for pass-through businesses under a Treasury Department final rule that includes ICBA-advocated reforms. The final rule expands the availability of the Tax…

ICBA Urges True Short-Form Call Report

Jan. 22, 2019 ICBA expressed disappointment in federal regulators’ insufficient proposal to reduce reporting burdens and repeated its call for a true short-form call report. Following its weeks-long grassroots advocacy campaign, ICBA said the call report for the first and…

ICBA to FDIC: Deny Square’s Latest Application

Jan. 22, 2019 ICBA called on the FDIC to deny Square Financial Services Inc.’s recently refiled deposit-insurance application. In a letter on the application, which was filed Dec. 19 after Square withdrew its original ICBA-opposed bid, ICBA also repeated its…

ICBA to Congress: Community Banks a Source of Strength

Jan. 11, 2019 The nation’s community banks stand ready to work with Congress to promote policy reforms that advance economic prosperity in every community, ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey said in an open letter to the 116th Congress.…

ICBA Survey Seeks Info on Congressional Relationships

Jan. 09, 2019 ICBA is calling on community bankers from the C-suite to the frontline and community bank directors to complete a 10-minute survey on their personal and professional contacts with members of Congress. The brief “State of Advocacy” survey…

ICBA Summarizes Proposed “No-Action Letter” Changes

Jan. 16, 2019 ICBA released a summary of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s proposals to revise its “No-Action Letter” policy and institute “product sandboxes.” The plans would streamline the process of applying for relief from enforcement actions to encourage innovation…

ICBA Seeks Hearings on “Emergency” Merger CU Merger

Jan. 22, 2019 ICBA called on key congressional committees to hold hearings on the National Credit Union Administration’s approval of an “emergency merger” between Pentagon Federal Credit Union and Progressive Credit Union. The merger allows PenFed, the third-largest U.S. credit…

ICBA Op-Ed: Community Banks Ready to Work With New Congress

Jan. 17, 2019 Community bankers stand ready to work with the new Congress to promote bipartisan reforms that will support communities in every congressional district, ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey wrote in a new op-ed. In The Hill,…

ICBA Comments on Bureau’s Data Collection Policy

Jan. 07, 2019 In a Dec. 27 letter, ICBA provided feedback in response to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s request for information regarding its data collection policy. In its response ICBA noted several areas for improvement. Among other recommendations, ICBA…

House Financial Services Committee Takes Shape

Jan. 17, 2019 House Financial Services Committee membership is taking shape for the 116th Congress while Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) laid out her priorities for the panel. The House Democratic caucus will need to confirm the steering committee’s recommendations of…

Flood Program Reauthorized Through May

Jan. 07, 2019 The Federal Emergency Management Agency resumed the sale of new insurance policies and the renewal of expiring policies under the National Flood Insurance Program. Congress passed ICBA-supported legislation reauthorizing the NFIP until May 31 before breaking for…

Fiserv Acquires First Data in $22B Deal

Jan. 17, 2019 Fiserv is acquiring First Data Corp. in an all-stock transaction, the companies announced. The $22 billion deal will merge under one roof a range of payments and financial services, including digital banking, issuer processing and network services,…

FHA: Help Workers Affected by Government Shutdown

Jan. 10, 2019 The Federal Housing Administration called on all approved mortgagees and lenders to be sensitive to the financial hardships experienced by borrowers as a result of the partial government shutdown. In a letter, FHA Commissioner Brian Montgomery noted…

Fed Officials: All We Need Is Just A Little Patience

Jan. 10, 2019 Many Federal Reserve rate setters said the agency can “afford to be patient” about further interest rate increases, according to the minutes of its December meeting. While the Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously to raise benchmark…

Fed Board Names Reserve Bank Board Leaders

Jan. 10, 2019 The Federal Reserve Board announced the 2019 chairs and deputy chairs of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks. Each reserve bank has a nine-member board of directors, with the Fed board appointing three. Read the 2019 Lineup Source

Faster Payments Council Names Interim Leadership

Jan. 16, 2019 The recently launched U.S. Faster Payments Council named SHAZAM Network senior executive Kevin Christensen as its acting executive director and interim board chair. The organization works to modernize the U.S. payments system and ensure ubiquitous access to…

FASB: “Weighted-Average” Method Works for CECL

Jan. 14, 2019 The Financial Accounting Standards Board said the “weighted-average remaining maturity” method of estimating expected credit losses is one of many acceptable methods for complying with the Current Expected Credit Loss standard. As FASB notes in a new…

CFPB: QM, Servicing Rules Reducing Foreclosures

Jan. 11, 2019 More than half of mortgage loans originated between 2005 and 2007 and foreclosed within two years had features that the Qualified Mortgage rule restricts, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said. However, these loans had largely disappeared from…

CFPB Seeks Military Lending Act Supervision Activity

Jan. 18, 2019 The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau asked Congress for clear authority to supervise for compliance with the Military Lending Act. In a letter to lawmakers, Director Kathleen Kraninger expressed support for legislation that would grant the CFPB authority…

Bureau Adds “No-Action Letter” Proposal to Innovation Page

Jan. 09, 2019 The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau updated its innovation webpage to include its “No-Action Letter” policy. The bureau last month proposed revisions to the policy, setting up an avenue for banks and fintechs to innovate without fear of…

Agencies: Work with Borrowers Affected by Shutdown

Jan. 14, 2019 Federal regulators encouraged financial institutions to work with consumers affected by the federal government shutdown. The agencies recommended prudent efforts to modify terms on existing loans or extend new credit to help affected borrowers, which they said…

Agencies Finalize Expanded 18-Month Exam Cycle

Jan. 07, 2019 Federal regulators issued final rules adopting interim final rules issued in August expanding eligibility for the 18-month examination cycle. As authorized by the S. 2155 relief law and long advocated by ICBA, the agencies raised the qualifying…

Ag Bankers Expect Farm Service Bottleneck

Jan. 15, 2019 Many bankers are preparing agricultural loans so they can submit them to the Farm Service Agency once the government reopens, ICBA’s Mark Scanlan told American Banker. In an article on the impact of the partial government shutdown…

Advance Advocacy Tools with “State of Advocacy” Survey

Jan. 11, 2019 ICBA is calling on community bankers from the board room to the frontline to complete a brief survey on their contacts with members of Congress. The 10-minute “State of Advocacy” survey gathers information that is instrumental in refining ICBA’s…

Additional Guidance Sought on “Opportunity Zones”

Jan. 07, 2019 In a recent comment letter ICBA asked the Internal Revenue Service to work with bank regulators to identify how community banks can participate and invest in Opportunity Zone Funds. The Opportunity Zone program, established by the Tax…

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